UniversitiesfromhomeandabroadunitetodiscussthefutureoftraditionalAsianarts
ByCHENGYUEZHU
[email protected]
T
oboost communica-
tion and exchanges
amongAsiantradition-
al artforms, universi-
tiesfrom both home
and abroad joined handsto put on
afeastforthesenses, while experts
engaged in dialogue about thefuture
ofAsian arts.
On thestage oftheNationalAcad-
emy ofChineseTheatreArtsonJuly
2, groupsofartists—primarilyfrom
ChinaandSouthKorea—presented
arange ofperformances, covering
areaslikeAsian classical music,
opera and dance.
The galaserved aspartofaforum
co-hosted byBeijingNormalUni-
versity and theNationalAcademy of
ChineseTheatreArts, themed“Asian
artstowardthefutur which tooke”,
placefromJuly 1 to 5.
More than 170 expertsand artists
from over10 countriesandregions,
includingChina,SouthKorea, the
UnitedStatesand France, came to
Beijing to discussarts-related dis-
ciplines,from music and dance to
physical education and new media.
Theacademyopenedthegalawith
aclassicPekingOpera piece, Great
Sage EqualtoHeaven ,centered
around the fictionalMonkeyKing
character.
The excerpt depicted thefight
scene between theMonkeyKing
and the heavenly army, in which per-
formers,particularly the actorplay-
ing theMonkeyKing,SunJingpeng,
exhibited awe-inspiring technique
and dexterity.
“Thisperformance isdifferent
fromourpreviousones.Itwasmore
comprehensive, withseveral univer-
sitiesperformingvariousartforms
on thesamestage, in particular,the
Korean arts, which allowed usto
learn about theirtraditional culture,”
Sunsaid.
ThreeSouthKorean universities
participated in theshow, including
theKoreaNationalSportUniversity,
KookminUniversity and theChinju
NationalUniversity ofEducation,
pr esentingthree traditional dance
typesthat used toserve varied pur-
poses.
KookminUniversity brought a
Gyobang dance based on the ear-
ly-20th-centurypoetKimSo-wol’s
work, Sanyuhwa ( Flowers in the
Mountains ), which illustratesthe
cycle ofseasonswithfemale danc-
erswearing the traditional hanbok
national dress,forming the imagery
offlowers.
A nnistructorfrom the university,
LeeMi-young,saidthe dancereflects
arespectfortradition.
“Ourdance hasbeen adapted
from traditionalKorean dance
forms,soweare enhancing itsaes-
theticsense whileremaining loyalWorld-classperformers
to theKorean tradition,”saidLee.
“I feel thispractice corresponds
with the globalized era that ischang-
ingrapidly.Inthesame manner,this
forum also managesto connect the
world through discussionsabout the
traditional arts.”
GuoLanlan, directorofthe music
department atBeijingNormal
University,said the international
exchange hasbeen an important
partoftheirworktopromote tra-
ditional art.
Guosaid they have led their
studentson field tripsand hosted
eventslike the university’sannual
international music week.
“These eventshave proved ben-
eficialforourstudents,enriching
theirknowledge and cultivating
theirrespectforforeign cultures,”
Guosaid.“Thisforum hasreinforced
ourcommitment to providing more
exchange opportunitiesforourstu-
dents.”
Theonly performance at the gala
by nonprofessionalswasstaged by
the guzheng (a traditionalChinese
stringed instrument like a zither)
ensemble oftheBeijingLanguage
andCultureUniversity, comprising
five internationalstudentsfrom
Vietnam,Cambodia andMongolia.
Wearing theirrespective national
traditional costume, thesestudents
at variousstagesoftheirstudiesper-
formed JasmineFlower , the classic
Chinesesong.Both the musical instrument
and thesong arerepresentative of
Chinesemusic,saidSunRun, an
instructorfrom the university.
“Inthisperformance, people of
different cultural backgrounds
converse and exchange viaChinese
traditional music, whichIbelieve
isin line with ourtheme today and
reflectsthe integration ofAsian arts,”
Sunsaid.
“The dialogue between cultures
allowsusto betterunderstand one
another, and hence appreciate each
other’sculture and art.”
According to Zhang Yao, a profes-
sorfrom theNationalAcademy of
ChineseTheatreArts, the academy
hasbeen offering internationalstu-
dentscourses tinraditionalChinese
artforms.
“Among ouruniversity’sinterna-
tionalstudents, the largestpercent-
age comesfromSouthKorea, many
ofwhomstudyPekingOpera and
KunquOpera,”Zhangsaid.“Alot
oftheseformerstudentsare now
teachers, dancersandresearchers
back inSouthKo rea,contributing
to cultural exchangesbetween our
countries.”
Theforum alsomarksthe deepen-
ing cooperation between theNation-
alAcademy ofChineseTheatreArts
and theSchool ofArtsandCommu-
nication ofBeijingNormalUniver-
sity, which aimsto promoteChinese
opera on an internationalstage.Students of Chinju National Universityof EducationperformChunaengjeon, a traditional South Korean dance.PHOTOSPROVIDEDTOCHINADAILY
Fromtop: Students from the
NationalAcademyof Chinese
TheatreArtsperform as the
MonkeyKing and as ayoung
woman inSpringBoudoir
Dream.CHINADAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY August 9-15, 2 019 LIFE 27